I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

“However, my dad told me that there are still some summoning beasts in the ninja world that cultivate natural energy and haven’t completely gone into seclusion. They still come into contact with some ninjas, so you might encounter ninjas who cultivate natural energy in the future,” Po Jun added.

I haven't encountered a ninja like Ye Lan who cultivates natural energy yet. However, such a thing is probably not used unless it's a matter of life and death. Moreover, cultivation is quite difficult. Just sensing the energy takes a lot of time. It's impossible to use it in battle without a long period of training. Perhaps I will encounter such a person in the future.

Chapter 39 Leading the Team

"I wonder what Granny Tsunade wants us to do?" Naruto and his teammates headed to the Hokage Building. The recent missions were quite boring, and Naruto was filled with envy when he heard that Kiba's class had carried out an A-rank mission last time.

"I'm giving you a new mission this time." Tsunade handed them a scroll about the mission as soon as they arrived, and Sasuke, as a Chunin, accepted it immediately.

"Quickly check what level of mission it is." Naruto said excitedly, "A mission personally assigned to them by Tsunade must not be too simple."

"A B-rank mission, a protective one?" Sasuke couldn't help but recall their first mission outside the village after seeing the scroll. It was also a B-rank bodyguard mission, but they ended up encountering a Jonin like Zabuza.

"What? Only B-rank!" Naruto looked down on missions of this level after his strength increased.

"Stop being so picky, and stop now!" Tsunade tried her best not to get angry. Although she liked Naruto, her personality was really unlikable.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura noticed that Kakashi-sensei wasn't there when she accepted the mission.

"Kakashi has gone to carry out other missions. I have arranged for the Jonin to lead you on this mission. Come out." With the Uchiha clan and Jinchuriki in the team, Tsunade was really worried about letting them go out on missions alone, not to mention the existence of the Akatsuki organization. Even though the village was really busy, Tsunade still managed to spare some manpower.

"Hello everyone!" Ye Lan's figure suddenly appeared in front of everyone. His free time was short-lived. Tsunade found him just a few days after he returned from Sunagakure.

"Brother Ye Lan!" The three who were familiar with Ye Lan were immediately overjoyed. With the powerful Ye Lan around, they felt much more at ease.

"Let me speak first. Unless it's an emergency, Ye Lan won't be involved in this mission. You'll be responsible for completing this mission yourselves." Tsunade explained the situation first. A B-rank mission requires one Uchiha Chunin and two decent Genin, which is sufficient.

"Don't worry! We can complete the mission ourselves, we won't need Brother Yelan to help!" Naruto patted his chest.

"I hope so..." Tsunade thought to herself. The fact that Ye Lan hadn't made a move meant there were no unexpected situations, which put her mind at ease.

After several days of travel, the group was finally nearing their destination. During this time, apart from the three of them asking Ye Lan a few questions about cultivation, he did not give much command to the group, but let them do as they pleased. They then arrived at a restaurant and decided to have a meal there before continuing their journey.

"I'm so tired, and I'm starving, boss!" Naruto shouted as soon as he entered the door, ordering quite a lot of food. It seems he has a good appetite.

Ye Lan sat down with them. He had brought mostly books with him on this trip, and he still had them in his hands.

"Brother Ye Lan, what have you been reading lately?" Sakura asked curiously. Ye Lan seemed to be reading books all the time, just like Kakashi. She couldn't help but wonder if it was the kind of books Kakashi-sensei was reading.

"This one." Ye Lan showed the book cover to Sakura, which read "The Direction and Insights on the Development of Ordinary Ninjas in Konoha".

Upon seeing the title, all three looked puzzled, wondering what kind of book it was.

Seeing the questions on the three faces, Ye Lan smiled and said, "This is a book about the learning experience of ordinary ninjas from genin to jonin, which is very helpful for ninja planning."

"But Brother Yelan, you're already a Jonin, why are you reading this kind of book? Is it helpful?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

“This book doesn’t contain any ninjutsu you can learn. It’s full of theoretical knowledge and development suggestions, as well as an understanding of chakra nature transformation and form transformation. Sakura, this book is perfect for you. You can study it when you have time,” Ye Lan said. “Moreover, this book was written by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It’s a collection of his insights and reflections as a teacher. Although reading it won’t increase my strength, it will broaden my horizons.”

"It's a book written by the Second Hokage!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise.

Naruto was somewhat surprised to hear that the book was written by the Hokage, but he really couldn't muster any interest in reading or studying.

Seeing that the topic had been opened, Ye Lan couldn't help but say a few more words: "Naruto, isn't your goal Hokage? You should know that no matter which village the Kage is, in addition to being powerful, they are all very knowledgeable ninjas. Even Tsunade-sama is constantly learning now."

"Ah! I understand. I'll go to the library to find this book when I get back." Naruto felt a headache coming on at the mention of studying, and scratched his messy hair as he spoke.

Sakura and Sasuke both burst out laughing when they saw Naruto's appearance.

The food had been served, and a group of people were eating when a person suddenly appeared next to their table.

Ye Lan didn't pay any attention. He had already seen the diner when he entered the room. He had already sensed him with his chakra perception jutsu and figured he was just a genin. He would see how Sasuke and the others dealt with him.

"Beautiful lady, it's my good fortune to meet you here. My name is Morino Idaten. What's your name?" Unexpectedly, the person came straight for Sakura. Ye Lan watched the three of them react with great interest.

Sakura was still a little flustered, but Naruto instantly got angry, stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "What are you doing? Don't try to flirt with Sakura!"

"So your name is Sakura! Have you thought about your future?" Idaten said directly, completely ignoring Naruto.

"What kind of life?" Sakura blushed, not expecting to encounter such a thing.

"It means giving up being a ninja to become my bride!" Idaten said with great confidence.

"You bastard, I'm going to beat you up!" Seeing that Naruto was about to make a move, Sakura immediately stopped him. Ninjas are not allowed to attack civilians, especially in other countries.

"Naruto, don't pay attention to these thugs, we still have a mission to do." Sasuke, who had already become a Chunin, knew what was important and spoke up immediately.

"Tch, Konoha ninjas are so boring. Being a ninja is such an easy job." Idaten looked around and his expression changed immediately when he saw Yoru's half-smile. "Just take it as a joke. I'm leaving now."

"That guy..." Naruto saw that the other person had left and didn't continue to chase after him, so he sat down again.

This caused everyone to lose their appetite, and the proprietress then came out and handed Sakura two bills.

"Two portions?" Sakura looked at the proprietress in confusion.

"The guy who just left said you were together and that you would pay the bill before leaving," the proprietress explained.

"That bastard tricked us!" Naruto, who had already calmed down, burst out cursing. Sakura was also furious, not expecting that the person had gone so far.

Sasuke glanced at Ye Lan and then lay down, pressing his ear close to the ground. He could tell from the footsteps that they had already run some distance and were moving at a decent speed.

"Brother Ye Lan!" Naruto couldn't take it anymore and had to teach that kid a lesson, so he wanted to get Ye Lan's opinion.

"Lady Tsunade said that I will not direct your decisions unless it is an emergency." Ye Lan slowly took a sip of tea.

"Let's go! Sakura! Sasuke!" Naruto called out to the two of them as they prepared to catch up with Idaten.

Ye Lan didn't follow him upstairs but continued eating. He was certain he didn't recognize the person from earlier. A ninja with such weak strength was no different from a recent graduate. However, his surname caught Ye Lan's attention. He wondered what connection the person had with Morino Ibiki.

Chapter 40 Thor's Sword

"Seriously, this guy runs so fast!" Hearing Naruto's complaint, Ye Lan was a little surprised. How could he lose him?

After reuniting with Ye Lan, Sasuke couldn't help but say, "The other side is too familiar with this area; we lost them."

Ye Lan didn't say anything more. Now it was time to go find the person who posted the task to confirm it.

Before long, after some inquiries from Sakura and the others, they finally met the person who issued the mission, Wasabi Jirocho.

"In short, the mission this time is to protect the contestants from being disturbed by others." Wasabi Jiro explained the mission: a competition will be held here, with one person from each of the two clans participating. They will go to a shrine to retrieve a token and return. Whoever reaches the finish line first will win, and the winning clan will be able to manage the town until the next competition.

"Then why do we need to be hired?" Sakura couldn't help but ask, since it seemed like the competition didn't require ninjas to participate.

“The other side has hired ninjas. If the ninjas make a move, our contestant will be in danger. You will be responsible for protecting him,” Wasabi Jiro said. “Come in and get to know the contestant.”

As they were talking, someone pushed open the door and entered. To Xiaoying and the others' surprise, it was Yituotian, the very person who had just asked them to pay for their meal.

"It's you, you brat!" Naruto was furious when he saw him. Not only had he tricked them, but he had also belittled the ninjas to the point of being worthless.

"Boss, I don't need ninja protection. I'll definitely win and show you." Itaru was also surprised to see Naruto and the others. He said to Jiro, then turned and left the room.

Jiro looked helplessly at Yelan. He knew that this person was the strongest ninja on the other side, and he hoped that Yelan would not mind and could complete the mission well.

"Naruto and his team are on this mission. I won't intervene unless there's a Jonin-level opponent." Ye Lan bowed slightly and then left the room.

Until the day of the competition, Ye Lan barely left his residence. No one knew what method Naruto used to get Yi Tuo Tian to agree to Naruto and the others protecting him, but his face was still as ugly as ever.

At the start of the race, Yi Tuotian did not follow the prescribed route, but instead found another route based on the wind direction. There was a section of the race that required the boat to cross a body of water, and if the wind direction was bad, it would slow down the speed considerably.

When Naruto saw the ship that Itaru had prepared, he and the others understood his determination. However, things didn't go as planned; they were attacked shortly after boarding. Seeing that the attackers wore Amegakure headbands and were only genin level, Ye Lan decided to watch how Naruto and the others would handle the situation. After some initial confusion, Naruto used his newly learned Rasengan to defeat the attackers.

This technique caught Sasuke's attention. Although he already knew that Naruto had learned the Rasengan, this was the first time he had seen Naruto use it, and he hadn't expected it to be so powerful.

After landing, Ye Lan stopped following Naruto and the others and went into hiding. His continued presence would only make them dependent on him.

As Naruto and the others were about to reach the shrine, a green-haired Amegakure ninja stopped them. He clearly recognized Itoten and began mocking him, making him sound utterly worthless. It was then that Naruto and the others learned that both of them were originally Konoha ninjas. Morino Itoten was a genin and the younger brother of Morino Ibiki, while the green-haired Aoi who stopped them was originally Itoten's teacher and a Konoha chunin who had now defected to Amegakure and become a jonin.

Even so, Sasuke and the others didn't give up. They relentlessly attacked Green Aoi, but Green Aoi used the Thunder God Sword, the weapon originally belonging to the Second Hokage, to deflect their attacks. Even Chidori and Rasengan couldn't help them. Naruto was knocked to the ground each time, while Sasuke held out a little longer, but there was nothing he could do. Green Aoi continued to attack the two of them with the sharpness of the Thunder God Sword, and soon they were covered in wounds. Sakura couldn't bear to watch any longer and used the Hardening Technique that Ye Lan had taught her to charge at Green Aoi.

As a result, the electric current from Thor's sword directly dissolved the hardened soil. Earth was restrained by lightning. Unwilling to give up, Sakura punched Green Aoi before collapsing. Green Aoi initially didn't pay attention, thinking that a little girl couldn't possibly have any strength. However, the punch almost killed him half of his life. In a somewhat disheveled state, he had no choice but to retreat.

"Sakura is amazing!" Seeing that the other party had already retreated, Naruto helped Sakura up. "Are you alright, Sakura?"

Sakura's body was a little numb from the electric shock, but she forced herself to sit up and said, "I'll be fine after resting for a while, but what about the competition?"

"I'll take him to the shrine to get the token first. You two rest first, and we'll meet up again when I return." Sasuke was the least injured, and he felt this was the best decision.

"That's the only way then. Honestly, where did Brother Yelan go? The opponent is a Jonin! Why isn't Brother Yelan making a move?" Naruto complained, while Sakura was still injured.

"The opponent is actually only at the Chunin level, not even close to being a Jonin. The main problem is that his sword is difficult to deal with," Sasuke said, raising Itoten. Having become a Chunin, Sasuke's knowledge had also increased somewhat. At most, someone like Green Aoi was only slightly stronger than a Chunin, and didn't pose as much of a threat as a Jonin.

"I didn't expect our opponents to be so tough this time. It's true what they say, without a Jonin by our side, carrying out our mission is quite difficult." Sakura said, taking out some medicine and swallowing it. This was given to her by Tsunade before she left.

"Don't worry, Sakura. Even if Brother Yelan doesn't intervene, we'll still take care of that Amegakure Jonin," Naruto reassured Sakura.

When Sasuke and Ituotian arrived at the shrine, it had already started to rain. They had to rest at the shrine for the night. Sasuke stayed with Ituotian, and looking out the window, he couldn't help but worry about Naruto and Sakura.

“Uchiha Sasuke, you’re from the Uchiha clan, aren’t you?” Ituo Tian, ​​who had been silent all along, spoke up.

Sasuke frowned, wondering what the other person wanted to say.

"Judging from your expression, I knew I wasn't wrong. The Jonin with you is Uchiha Yelan, right?" Sasuke became wary upon hearing Yituotian mention Yelan's name. Yelan had never told them his name since they arrived, so how did this person know?

“You don’t need to be so wary. Didn’t that Rain Ninja tell you before? I used to be a Konoha ninja too.” Yi Tuotian gave a bitter laugh. “Uchiha Yelan was my classmate…”

"Huh?" Sasuke didn't expect that Yituotian and Yelan had this kind of relationship.

"Although we were classmates, Ye Lan-kun is different from me. He graduated from the Ninja Academy in just two years, and we never saw each other again after that. At first, I didn't recognize him; he just looked vaguely familiar. It wasn't until Naruto called him 'Brother Ye Lan' that I realized it was him." Yi Tuotian slowly recounted the past. "Ye Lan-kun didn't know me, but I always looked up to him. He was a genius in our year. I heard he was going on an S-rank mission when he was ten years old, while I hadn't even graduated yet. After I became a ninja, I always wanted to be like him, but I never expected that I wouldn't even pass the first round of the Chunin Exams..."

This is the difference between an ordinary person and a genius: bloodline, learning ability, and experience ensure that the two will never cross paths again. Sasuke listened to Yituotian's recollections and finally understood some of Ye Lan's past events.

"Judging from his appearance, he probably doesn't even recognize me anymore. Well, that's all I can do..." Yi Tuotian murmured, as if finding an excuse for himself.

"Boring." Sasuke's Sharingan had already activated. "If you give up like this, how can you face your boss's trust? Genius? Can you negate someone's efforts with just the word 'genius'? You have no idea how much the name Uchiha weighs! Ye Lan and I are both working hard towards a goal. Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, we will cross them. This has nothing to do with the strength of a person, but with determination!"

Sasuke finally reached the door, opened it, and the torrential rain outside was already splattering onto his face.

"If you want to disappoint others again, then give up! This isn't about whether you're fit to be a ninja or not; you can't even be a decent human being right now!"

After saying that, Sasuke left the room to find Naruto and Sakura.

...

"Really, I didn't expect that little girl to be so strong." Green Sunflower in the room said, looking at the Thunder God Sword in her hand. "As expected, with the Thunder God Sword, I am invincible."

"Hmph. Does bullying genin bring you pleasure?" A strange voice rang out in the room. Green Aoi released the Thunder God Sword and looked around warily as she spoke.

"who is it?"

At that moment, a chill ran down his spine. Behind him, a red light flashed, revealing a pair of Sharingan eyes with three tomoe. Green Aoi dared not turn around; his intuition told him that turning around would mean certain death.

"The sword is not bad. Consider it payment for bullying the genin. I'll accept it." Before he could finish speaking, Green Aoi realized that the Thunder God Sword in his hand had vanished. After waiting for a long time, Green Aoi realized that the chill was long gone. He wiped the sweat from his face and said, "Was it the Jonin leading that group of genin? That's terrifying! This mission is too dangerous. I can't continue!"

After saying that, he packed his things and left the shrine that very night.